Therapy dog brings puppy love to patients


SHELBY TOWNSHIP — It’s not every dog who has her painted portrait hanging in a hospital.
But Chelsea, 10, a golden retriever, is special.
A registered therapy dog, Chelsea pays visits to patients at Children’s Hospital of Michigan and the Veterans Administration Hospital, both in Detroit.
How her magic works defies explanation, but sometimes just the soft nuzzle of Chelsea’s snout against a hand has been enough to make a comatose child open his eyes. Other times, fingers that didn’t normally work stroke Chelsea’s reddish-brown coat, said Ruth Glass-Schmidt of Shelby Township, Chelsea’s owner.
“You could see kids use their morphine pumps less often when they were around the dog,” Glass-Schmidt said.
She got Chelsea from her brother, Paul Glass of Clinton Township, who died of renal cancer in February. Last month, Chelsea and her new owner visited patients again at Children’s Hospital, where Chelsea’s portrait hangs.
Chelsea had surgery for skin cancer Dec. 1, but Glass-Schmidt says the vets now have given her a clean bill of health. “We’ll go anywhere they let us in,” she said.
— Mike Wowk (Detroit News)

Picture of Chelsea,and her owner Ruth Glass-Schmidt can be found at:

http://www.detnews.com/2003/metro/0312/24/a01-17975.htm